Game Preview #6: Dukes Hope to Upset to CAA Power Albany
Hahhahahhaahahhah. Seriously, this is what it’s come to. We have to title our preview thusly.
The Basics
Match-up: unranked JMU Dukes (2-3, 0-2 last place CAA) vs #23 SUNY Albany Great Danes (4-0, 1-0 CAA against an Ivy, two NEC’s, and URI)
Kick-off: 6:00 PM Saturday, October 4 at Bob Ford (Bob Ford!) Field in Albany, New York
Weather: High of 63, but going down during the game, 60% chance of showers, breezy
Broadcast: Might have to steal this one on Wiziwig or First Row Sports. Legally, it appears the only option is to purchase Albany’s stream here, though it is only $4.95 and they’re still with NeuLion, which has to be better than this Stretch Media crap we’ve gotten from JMU this year.
How Albany Can Win
By getting to Vad Lee and limiting the big plays. Albany is not a great team. They’re not giving up nearly 500 yards a game bad, but they’re not going to pitch any shutouts either at this level of competition after a string of questionable opponents. If Abdullah gets going and Lee spreads the ball around to his receivers like he did last week, JMU could put up a lot of points.
Even in the piling-up losses, the Dukes have usually found their way to a few big plays. The best way to eliminate those big plays for Albany is to get to Vad Lee early and often. Given time, he could have a decent day.
On offense, the blue print for beating JMU is there. See what the defense gives you and take advantage. It’s sad, but true. Albany doesn’t have a real electric player on offense, but they’ve got enough guys that are good enough to exploit typical JMU mistakes. If the Dukes continue to make mistakes like missing tackles and making incorrect reads, Albany can easily win at home.
How JMU Can Win
By getting back to making progress and not getting down on themselves or giving up just yet. Honestly, Maryland was bad but it’s always hard to know what to make of those games. Then the Dukes showed steady, if slow, progress for three weeks before last weekend’s debacle (which they still almost pulled out). As much fun as we’ve had by running this broken record preview for the Dukes’ struggles, we’re not done watching or ready to fire up the pitchforks with Withers and co. yet at all. Albany is better than we’ve ever seen them (or maybe the CAA has come back to them) so this isn’t in any way an easy one, but it’s still Albany and it would be an embarrassment worse than Stoney Creek last year to not take advantage of this chance to right the season for a week or three.
Now defensively, it’s a different story. JMU has struggled to tackle. JMU has struggled to stop teams from running the ball, and passing the ball, and scoring. You get the point. Albany does not appear to pose a huge threat through the air though admittedly they’ve gotten by so far mostly by running the ball against possibly overmatched foes. On the ground, the Great Danes unquestioned offensive leader is RB Omar Osbourn, who leads the CAA with 135.2 rushing yards per game, netting 541 yards in four games on 97 carries and scoring two TD’s. Given the opportunity, he could do some real damage against JMU. The defense doesn’t need to be lights out, but it absolutely needs to improve.
JMUSB Beer of the Week
Like a lotta folks, we had a good time this summer with the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp set that was filled with collaborations between the venerable brewery and other brewers around the country. It was a great idea and a lot of fun to think you’re getting to try something from someone you wouldn’t otherwise have access to regionally (can you say 3 Floyds?), but the fact only a couple of the 12 beers in the collection turned out great showed just how hard it can be to collaborate your way to the heights many of these brewers have achieved previously on strength of their own inspiration.
But with that in mind and with the Dukes traveling north this week, it’s time to look in that direction for a great new collaborative effort from two Vermont brewers. Double Dose Imperial IPA is a joint effort from the larger Otter Creek’s Mike Gerhart and the smaller and more hallowed Sean Lawson of Lawson’s Finest Liquids. All we really need to say about this one is that it’s only a half-step behind the two almost mythical neighbors it shares shelf-space with in arguably the nation’s best state, Alchemist’s Heady Topper and Lawson’s own Sip of Sunshine. Like those two, this one will restore your faith that you can still find something new and amazing!
Help a Couple Old Guys Find a Good Tailgate
For various reasons, neither of us can make this roadie, but our good friend, fellow ticket holder, and frequent collaborator Rich (Coach Priz in our comments) is making the trip with an old friend that’s actually a Great Dane alum. Hit him up on Twitter @richpriz if you’ve got a tailgate setup and he’ll bring beverages, good cheer, and a bevy of econ stats about college athletics to brighten your day!
Official JMUSB Prediction
Really, for at least a week this week the Dukes really will earn something on the field and stem the tide of hate, regret, and bitterness. JMU 30, Albany 24
The ratio of game coverage text to beer of the week text seems to mirror the team’s record.
Dukie – As well it should. If you look closely, I mostly just cut and pasted the football parts from Rob’s preview last week and replaced Delaware with Albany. Nothing much else to say at this point except “Go Dukes!” so might as well enjoy something JMU has always been good at, BEER! To steal from Ole Miss, we may lose the game, but we never lose a party!
I cannot believe the CAA has come to this. I feel like I’m standing in the burnt-out ruins of a (former) palace staring at the charred remains.
Lose this game … and BS will become a ghost town. 🙁
BS a ghost town? You mean like the 4th quarter of every game for the last few years?
Third quarter ghost town last week. Lose to Albany and the fans should be calling for Withers and company to kick rocks.
As fans, I feel we over value JMU football and under value our competition. FCS has always been a league where good football players choose to stay closer to home to get their education. Many FBS caliber players who want to play as Freshman and Sophomores have played at the FCS level for years.
The reason the CAA has been dominant is because the northeast conferences did not offer scholarships. The NEC and the Patriot do now. That is why their programs are slowly improving. With Albany coming from the NEC to the CAA, they talent is slowly improving as well. Keep in mind, they dominated the NEC for many years. Also, the NEC has at least five wins over CAA schools this year after Sacret Heart beat UD yesterday at UD.
With more scholarships available at northern schools, northern kids are going to choose to stay closer to home so their family and friends can see them play. Albany and Stony Brook have put a lot of money into their athletics. Both schools were in the playoffs a lot prior to coming to the CAA. They are better programs than Hofstra and Northeastern were.
Matthews staff recruited poorly over the last few years, which is why JMU has so many “athletes” on their roster. They took the best they could get without consideration of the position they played. We are paying for it the last two seasons.
Whether fans want to believe it or not, Withers is putting a competitive team on the field each week and the games have been exciting to watch from an offensive perspective. No more boring Mickey ball. There is talent but not enough to win the CAA or go far in the playoffs. Being over .500 in the CAA would be an accomplishment for our first year coach.
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